Design and Technology

Intent:

Our Design and Technology curriculum is designed to motivate children and equip them with the knowledge and practical skills needed to design and make products which solve real and relevant problems that exist within a variety of contexts. Children will have opportunity to experience and analyse the work others and through evaluation and scrutiny of past and present design, they will develop their ability to think critically about the impact of these designs on daily life, sustainability and the wider world.

The aims of the design and technology curriculum are to support children to:

• Develop the creative, technical and practical expertise to perform everyday tasks confidently and participate in an increasingly technological world
• Build understanding, knowledge and skills that are needed to design and make high-quality products for a range of users, becoming more proficient in construction, mechanics, electronics, textiles and architecture
• Critique, evaluate and test their ideas and products
• Understand and apply the principles of nutrition and learning how to cook

Through our Design and Technology curriculum, children will be given the opportunity to develop skills in design, making, technical knowledge and evaluation which progress across each year groups These are set out in our Design and Technology progression of skills document.

Throughout their Design and Technology studies they will have the chance to experience and analyse the work of others, including from different periods and cultures. Our Design and Technology curriculum will provide children with the opportunity to consider that possibility of future careers in design and to consider the contribution that high-quality design makes to the culture, creativity and wealth of the nation.

Our two year Design and Technology curriculum map and our Design and Technology Progression of skills can be viewed at the bottom of this page.

Implementation – in and outside of the classroom:

Wherever possible, design and technology units will be linked to topic areas (for example, developing understanding of levers and making a catapults while learning about the Romans). Our Design and Technology curriculum supports subjects such as Mathematics, Art, Science, English and Computing. It provides children with the opportunity to apply technical, scientific and mathematical knowledge in real-life practical contexts.

Design and Technology is usually taught in the form of focused days or afternoons to allow children the time to explore, engage, create and critique.

During curriculum events such as Enterprise Week, children are given further opportunities to develop their understanding, skills and attitudes and are taught how to be innovative and creative, to take risks and manage them and how to have a can-do attitude and the drive to make ideas happen.  

How parents can support

There are many ways to get involved in Design and Technology activities with your child, both in and out of the home:

• Look for opportunities to evaluate existing products. How does this new device work? What is it made of? Why has this broken so quickly?  How could we improve it?
• Source, cook and prepare food together, both sweet and savoury dishes, as often as you can. Children can take on more complex tasks as they become more confident and require less supervision, but even very young children can mix, wash, spread, count spoonfuls and chop easier food such as bananas and courgettes.
• Involve your children with DIY and maintenance tasks (e.g. bike upkeep), even if they are just watching to start with.
• Get junk modelling and try out different materials and different ways to make structures strong and stable.
• Using any kind of construction toys, such as Lego, K-NEX and marble runs is fantastic. All these involve planning, experimenting, evaluating and adapting.
• Start a project together, such as building a bug hotel or bird box, or sewing a bag. Is there someone among your family and friends who would be keen to pass on a skill such as knitting or carpentry?